P.D. James

P.D. James Biography

P.D. James (Phyllis Dorothy James) was born on August 3rd, 1920. P.D. passed away November 27th, 2014 at 94 years old. P.D. James was born in Oxford, England. James attended Cambridge High School for Girls.

P.D. James was the author of the Adam Dalgliesh series which consists of 14 novels. The Adam Dalgliesh series started in 1962 with the novel Cover Her Face. The most recently released novel in the Adam Dalgliesh series was The Private Patient which was released in 2008. There are no upcoming novels for the Adam Dalgliesh series.

P.D. James (Phyllis Dorothy James) also wrote the Non-Fiction Books series which has 4 books including The Maul and The Pear Tree and Time To Be In Earnest.

In an odd coincidence, P.D. James picked the last name "Dalgleish" after her English teacher, whose name was Miss Dalgleish. Years later, she found out that the teachers fathers first name was Adam.

P.D. James also won the journalism prize, the Nick Clarke Award. This was presented to her in 2010 after her BBC Radio 4 interview with Mark Thompson, the director of the BBC.

P.D. James has had multiple novels listed in Kono Mystery ga Sugoi in Japan. In 1998, A Taste for Death was ranked #3 best mystery book, and in 1992, Devices and Desires was ranked #1. In 1997, Original Sin was on the list, ranking #8.

P.D. James in 2004 won the Lifetime Achievement award, given to him by the Sherlock awards.

P.D. James Awards & Accolades

P.D. James has won multiple awards including: The Riverton Prize, International Honor Award, in 1993, , Edgar Award, Grand Master, in 1999, , Crime Thriller Awards, International Crime Writing Hall of Fame Award, in 2008, and the Theakston's Old Peculier, Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction, in 2011.

P.D. James have won many awards including:

• Shroud for a Nightingale won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Silver Dagger Award, in 1971.
• The Black Tower won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Silver Dagger Award, in 1975.
• A Taste for Death won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Silver Dagger Award, in 1986 as well as the Macavity Award - Best Mystery Novel in 1987.
• The Children of Men won the Deo Gloria Awards, Best Book, in 1992.
• The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women won the World Fantasy Award, Anthology, in 1996.
• Talking About Detective Fiction won the Macavity Award, Best Mystery Critical/Biographical, in 2010 as well as the Anthony Award - Best Non-Fiction Book in 2010.

The following novels by P.D. James were also nominated for these awards:

• Shroud for a Nightingale: Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel (1972).
• An Unsuitable Job for a Woman: Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel (1972). Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (1972).
• Death of an Expert Witness: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (1977).
• Innocent Blood / Innocent House: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (1980).
• The Skull Beneath the Skin: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (1982).
• A Taste for Death: Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel (1987).
• Death in Holy Orders: Barry Award, Best British Crime Novel (2002).
• The Murder Room: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2005).
• The Lighthouse: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2006).
• Talking About Detective Fiction: Agatha Award, Best Non-fiction (2009).

P.D. James: TV/Movies Based on Books

James has multiple books that have been adapted for the screen: In the 1980s and 1990s, multiple Adam Dalgleish novels were made into a TV serial in the United Kingdom. They featured Roy Marsden as Adam Dalgleish. Each book was broken down into a 5 or 6 episode series.

Movies that were made starring Roy Marsden were:

- Death of an Expert Witness
- Shroud for a Nightingale
- Cover Her Face
- The Black Tower
- A Taste for Death
- Devices and Desires
- Original Sin
- A Certain Justice

In November 2021, the Adam Dalgleish series of novels was again made into a TV series. It started airing with a 6 episode TV season. It stars Bertie Carvel as Adam Dalgleish, and aired on Acorn TV in the USA, as well as Channel 5 in the UK. The TV show was adapted from three separate novels, which are Shroud for a Nightingale, The Black Tower and also A Taste for Death.

The novel The Murder Room, the 12th book in the series, was also adapted into a TV show for the BBC. It was broken up into two parts and was three hours long. In this one, the actor Martin Shaw starred as Adam Dalgleish. Janie Dee played Emma Lavenham.

Due to changes in the producer, the TV serials starring Roy Marsden were also adapted into two TV movies. They were Unnatural Causes and A Mind to Murder.

Also in 2003 and 2003, the novels Death in Holy Orders and The Murder Room were adapted as movies by the BBC. In those, Martin Shaw played Adan Dalgleish.

The novel The Children of Men, a standalone novel, was adapted to the big screen as the movie Children of Men, starring Clive Owen, Michael Caine and Julianne Moore although it does differ a lot from the novel.

P.D. James F.A.Q

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Michael K.

1 year ago

My brain nearly melted a few days ago when I realized that P.D. James wasn’t who I thought she was. To put things into context, my school library had seven Adam Dalgliesh novels, and I re-read them so many times that I can practically recite them from memory.

Obviously, that is an exaggeration, but you know what I mean. I understand P.D. James as a writer. I know what to expect from her, or at least I thought I did. But then I learned a little while ago that she wrote ‘Children of Men,’ the inspiration for my favorite Sci-Fi/dystopian movie.

I knew she was talented, but this is taking things to a whole other level. I’m waiting with bated breath for the book to arrive. Hopefully, the novel matches the quality of the movie.

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